Corporate restructuring has again emerged as a pressing issue for the Korean economy as the proportion of companies faltering under heavy debt has reached dangerous levels.Last week, the Korea Development Bank held a large seminar on corporate restructuring to mark its 60th anniversary. The forum offered a chance for top financial regulators and scholars to highlight the need to restructure poorly managed companies.Unfortunately, however, the seminar focused only on large corporations with liqui

Up to 21 companies listed on the Korean stock market are likely to face delisting this year, the local bourse operator said Friday.The companies, including seven firms on the main bourse, have been found to have negative capital or have received a disclaimer of opinion from auditors on their financial statements, according to the Korea Exchange.A disclaimer of opinion is issued when an auditor has been unable to obtain appropriate audit evidence and is unable to express an opinion on financial s

GS Group, the nation’s eighth-largest conglomerate by assets, is expected to further tap the power business beyond its three core businesses of oil refinery, construction and retail. This shift was reflected by the launch of GS E&R, a new affiliate focusing on the power business, last week. GS E&R is the new corporate name of STX Energy, which GS Group took over last December with LG International from Japan’s Orix Corp. for about 600 billion won ($564 million).GS Group aggressively sought the d

The corporate rankings of South Korea’s large businesses fluctuated sharply last year with further changes expected in 2014 as many struggle to cope with difficult times, local data showed Wednesday.According to CEO Score, an online corporate productivity evaluation site, the rise and fall of conglomerates in 2013 was the most volatile since the 1998 Asian financial crisis.STX, Tongyang and Woongjin groups faced outright dissolution or came close to losing their status as three of the 50 largest

Major Korean business groups facing potential liquidity problems are rushing to sell off assets to shore up their balance sheets. This is a well-advised move in light of the recent debacles of the STX and Tongyang groups, both of which collapsed under excessive debt burdens.On Sunday, Hyundai Group, a second-tier conglomerate separate from Hyundai Motor Group, announced it would dispose of an array of assets to raise 3.3 trillion won ($3.1 billion). It will use the proceeds to lower the average

The number of corporate bankruptcies declined in November from a three-month high tallied in the previous month as the economy is on the recovery track, the central bank said Friday.The number of companies that went belly up totaled 84 in November, down from 101 recorded in October, according to the Bank of Korea.The number of newly established companies came in at 6,112 last month, down from 6,445 in October.The default rate of corporate bills ― bonds, checks and promissory notes ― reached 0.12

GS Group, a South Korean retail and refining conglomerate, said Wednesday that a consortium of GS Holdings Corp. and LG Corp. has been selected as the preferred bidder for a controlling stake in STX Energy Co. The consortium will purchase 72 percent of the 96.35 percent stake held by Orix Corp. of Japan, the group said. Detailed terms of the stake sales between the consortium and Orix will be determined in additional negotiations to be held as soon as possible, the GS Group said. GS Holdings has

South Korean companies with weak financial footing saw their balance sheets worsen further this year amid a protracted economic slowdown, with their debt ratio sharply rising and their ability to pay back interest declining, industry data showed on Sunday.According to the data, the top 300 in terms of debt ratio, out of 1,501 listed non-financial firms, had the average debt ratio of 279.2 percent as of end-June this year, rising 35.7 percentage points from a year earlier.The June figure also com

South Korean stocks closed almost flat Wednesday as investors sat on the sidelines due to concerns about advanced countries' economies ahead of a series of events, analysts said. The local currency fell against the U.S. dollar.The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) shed 0.01 percent, or 0.26 points, to finish at 2,013.67. Trading volume was low at 267.2 million shares worth 3.87 trillion won ($3.65 billion) with losers outpacing gainers 431 to 356.Analysts said investors took a

More companies are likely to have difficulty in raising funds by issuing commercial paper or bonds, as a huge portion of investors pull their investment out of the corporate bond market in the wake of a liquidity crisis among some conglomerates.Over the past year, business groups such as Tong Yang, STX and Woongjin undermined retail investors for an insolvent financial status.Investors for CPs and bonds issued by the three conglomerates are estimated to have faced collective losses of some trill

The state-run Korea Development Bank said Thursday it plans to sell the European arm of STX Group as part of efforts to quicken the ongoing restructuring process of the financially troubled conglomerate.The largest creditor bank of South Korea’s 13th-biggest conglomerate said it is preparing to sell STX Europe AS, although no detailed plans as to the scale of or means to carry it out have been decided yet, according to a KDB official with knowledge on the matter. STX Group, the shipping and ship

The recent collapse of Tong Yang Group has highlighted the insidious growth of corporate debt and the need to swiftly put vulnerable corporations under harsh restructuring programs. According to Chaebol.com, a research company that closely monitors the nation’s chaebol groups, the aggregate debt of Korea’s 30 largest family-controlled conglomerates has surged since the global financial crisis in 2008.Their debt totaled 575 trillion won last year, up 83 percent from 314 trillion won in 2007. The

30대 재벌의 계열사가 지난 5년간 50% 가까이 급증한 것으로 나타났다. 최근 웅진, STX 등에 이어 동양까지 국내 재벌들이 연이어 무너지는 것과 관련,무리한 계열사 확장이 유동성 위기를 촉발했다는 지적이 나온다. 6일 재벌닷컴에 따르면 총수가 있는 자산 순위 30대 재벌그룹의 계열사 수는 지난 2007년 말 843개에서 작년 말 1천246개로 403개(47.8%) 증가했다. 재벌그룹 계열사 수는 2008년 말 1천6개로 1천개를 돌파한 이후 2010년 말 1천126개로 늘었고 2011년 말 1천200개를 넘어섰다. 올해 들어서는 소폭 감소해 9월 말 기준으로 1천237개로 집계됐다. 30대 재벌 중 5년간 계열사가 감소한 곳은 금호아시아나 한 곳뿐이었다. 금호아시아나그룹은 2007년 말 35곳에서 작년 말 20곳으로 계열사가 줄었다. 5년간 계열사가 수가 가장 많이 늘어난 곳은 롯데그룹이었다. 롯데그룹 계열사는 2007년 말 43개에서 작년

SK Group, the nation’s third-largest conglomerate, is losing steam in its investment drive for future growth as the group’s leadership vacuum is expected to be prolonged. According to an industry source, SK Energy & Service, an unlisted, fast-growing gas and power business arm of SK Group, decided to drop its bid for STX Energy. The decision came after the appeals court’s decision on Friday to impose multiyear prison terms on group chairman Chey Tae-won and his younger brother, group vice chairm

Park Byeong-yeop, founder and vice chairman of Korea’s third-largest mobile device maker Pantech Corp., decided to leave the firm to take responsibility for sluggish business.He is the latest casualty among a list of so-called legendary businessmen after Woongjin Group founder Yoon Seok-keum and STX Group founder Kang Duk-soo, who had once garnered respect from office workers for their dramatic success stories.Starting his career as a salesperson at telecommunications device maker Maxon Electron